NEWS AND NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 118, 20 May 1905, Page 12

NEWS AND NOTES.

— ' • Miss Ellen Stone, tho American misiiouary who was captured by brigands in Bulgaria some time ago, has determined to return to that country and again tako up tho religious work iv which sho was engaged. Tho new volume of Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff's diary contains the story of a Scotch medical professor, who, vory fond of using his blackboard for announcements of all kuuU, had chalked upon it an intiaiation to his class that ho had just been mado phjwcian to the Queen. Beforo the notice was eiased, ho observed that somo one had added beneath tho intimation, "God Save the'Quoeu." A Turkish newspaper announced reisently, in reeordiug various honours conferred ou deserving soldiers of tho Sultan, that Captain Ati Kirn Agha, of tho Zouavo Regiment of the Imperial Guard, had received the title of effundi for having learned to road on' 1 write. It is estimated that nearly 700,000 per■ons attended the Torrey-Ale.xander Mi* uion meetings at tho Albert Hall in Lon. don. The prnctico of cremation grows but ttlowly in Englnml. In 1904 there wert 4407 inainerations, aftitinst 4316 in 1903. Tho chief obstacle ii a decision given by a law court in 1894 that unless explicit directions were Kfb in the will an executor vms not competent to cremate his testator. The ground of tho decision w-ns that every ono is entitled to" Christian burial, and ftha't cremation is not Christian burial. It was something decidedly new in the Iriiitory of human adventure thai befel the labourer who was blown up the other day from the Htihwny tunnel through the bottom of tho Knst River, New York, then through the river itself and 20ft into the air— -all without iiurting him. Men have been blown to pieces and in all sorts of directions before, but hitherto, ro far as our information goes, no one hna ever been blown up tho way this labourer was. Wo can all sympathise with his remark, •fter being hauled from the water With vitality unimpaired : "We expect risks, but this ia tho funniest thing I ever heard of." The Archbishop of Mnlta attended in ctato and solemnly blewed the opening of the first electric tramway in that island «arly iv March. President Roosevelt has issued a proclamation inviting the nations of the world to send military representatives or a. wartthip to tako part, iv 1007, in the celebration, nt Jamestown, Virginia, of tho birth of tho American nation, the first American nettlenifnt having been founded at Jamestown on 13lh May, 1607. To celebrate it* twenty-five years' successful work in America tho Salvation Army recently held a magnificent congress | in New York. Miss Kvnngoline Booth, ! lately Cominandtr-in-Chiof in Canada, and i iiow occupying a similar position in the United States, was tho chief speaker at I tho opening meetings at tho Academy eif j Music in New York, one of tho largest j theatres in tho world Salvationist bsnds ' and choirs were masked on the stage, there ti-as not a vicant placo in tho entire building, and (he services wero maiked by extraordinary enthusiasm. According to reports fronJ>Snnla Criu County (California), Professor Montgomery, of Santa Clara College, has constucted n flying machine which really flies. For | experimental purposes ho used a balloon i to take his aeropluuo up to a great height, and when cut loose ho sailed "with or against the wind, upward or downward, at pleamire." People in San Fr«ncisco aro u-c dubious ns elsewhere about the powers of alleged flying machines, but the detailed enthusiastic reports given in tho present instance induced tho bolief that Professor Montgomery, aftor nil, had gone a long way towards solving the problem of centuries. All tho sthoolboys and schoolgirls of France havo been nuked to contribute ten «:entitnes each for the pui chase of a tribute to the memory of Jules Verne, who has entertained and enlightened them by his numerous books of fiction. Controversy wan still raging in Now York when tho mail left as to whether the American foreign missions should accept tho gift of £20,000 from Mr. Rockefeller, of tho Standard Oil Trout, nnd from the pre.sa.it hna extended to tho pulpit. The chief argument, ndvnnced ngainst accepting the money is that the trust is alleged to havo stamped out all competitors \v cruel, immoral, methods, «nd thai money no gained is tainted. . Mnny prenchers yesterday took the line that the money should bo accepted because if Standard Oil methods wero ns bad as Ihey are represented American laws could have intervened to punish the offenders. Such had not been Iho case. Moreover, It ia nrgiwd that the missions •olicitcd tho gift, which at worst may bo accepted ns an "net of reparation." Professor .Stndelmnn, principnl phy■icinn of tho great ho.ipitnl at Frivdnchsha'm, a. suburb of Berlin, in his latest report say** that" tho inroads of alcohol among largo sections of tho working cloj-st-H in Berlin nre nppalling. Ho reckon 1 ! that seven per cent, of all the cu»os admitted to bin hospital nre enses \>[ delirium tremens, and that this ir> no •way covers all tho forms of disease brought on by intemperance. Roughly, ho say, between one-quarter nnd onethird of tho diseases afflicting men in the groat district* in Berlin inhabited by •workmen nro causod by the improper u»o of alcohol. A housc-palntor nnmed Oacnr Hartmann, being unable to obtain employment, has hit on an easy method of getting board nnd 'lodging freo of cost. About to be arrested the other dny for begging, he uttered certain remarks about the Kaiseivwhtch were constructed by the polico into lese-tnnjeste. For this offence ho e?cured three months in gaol. On ft former occasion Haitmann, for a similar otfeuco in an aggravated form, ■was punished with twelve months' imurisonmont. One of tho strongest argument* omp'oyed in favour of tho nholltion of tho penal laws of lese-mnjesto is the frequent rocurrertco of coses liko this of Hnrtmnim, where unfortunates ■who object to break windows or commit on assault secure their aim by insulting the Kaiser. A remarkable notion concluded at the Belfast Assizes last month. Mcusrs. M'Gowan and Ingram, wholesale stationers, sued Alex. Hamilton, William Sievenson, and William M'Unn for £60, goods supplied. The question was, whether the dofendants were partners in a firm which went bankrupt, and to which the plaintiffs supplied the goods. The case had been twice tried at Dublin, but on each occasion the juty disngieed. After a live days' hearing tho jury found for tho defendants. The litigation had bo far cost £7000. A Preston correspondent reports to the London Telegraph an extraordinary incident of animal life. Twelve months ago n, farm labourer, living in the neighbourhood, found n. nest of young wild rabbits, «&d threw them to a gouplo of, ferrets,

ono of which was expecting a family. Throe of Iho littlo creatures worn immediately despatched, but the fourth was discovered a few days later nestling up to tho ferret, which had oleaily adopted it. The feiret was employed ut its uhiial work of i,it and rabbit hunting, but the attachment thus strangely begun continued till a fortnight ago, when, tho lid of the box being left open, the labbit, now full giown, escaped to it s nativo burrows. Two days later it was found struggling to enter the hutch and lejoiu its f»»ier parent. Tho door was opened to u ml, to the labouier's astonishment, the ferret welcomed her lost companion with the livo.iest tokens of dolight and satisfaction. Tho Blackpool Watch Committee has recommended that boys under twelve yeas of ago should bo excluded from the ioeal UiflkVes and Mirioty halls, and the malingers have intimated that they will comply wilh the, recommendation. Aa a result of Russo-Jnpnncse war observations, tho sword is to bo restored to favour in the United States Army. Tho swoid, a iccent report says, is not a weapon of tho post. Night attacks have shown tho effective liso of the bayonet and tho sword, and it follows that tho sword adopted for officers of tho army should bo a fighting woupon, and not morely a badge of oiHce, Another point is scored by Japan in tho adoption at tho West Point and Annapolis Military and Naval Academies of Jiu-jitsu. This art of solf-dofenco is to be incorporated with courses of boxing nnd wrestling at tho national institutions, President Roevsovelt having endorsed tho report of tho Army and Navy Physical Training Board of Officers, which declares that it inspires Iho individual with self-confidence. Admiral Birileff, commanding tho naval port of Kronstadt, issued tho following order of the day on 22nd March: — "The polico superintendent of the town reports to mo that ycsteidny, while I was inspecting the district known as Kazee Balato (Goats' Marsh), Thcodoro Prilouchnr, petty omVei of tho 2nd Naval Contingent, insu'.ted mo publicly in terms which are not permissible. I allow Prilouchny nnd othera to insult me when off duty, if I am not there, ns much n» they like, whero they like, nnd in whatever terms they liko ; but 1 horoby instruct tho police superintendent not to mako enquiries in ouch circumstances, nor to write reports on the subject, bocause it is tho duty of the polico to look after acts, not words. A powerful nuthority has nothing to fear from people like Prilouchny, either from their insults or their abuse." During tho past few years (Rays the London Telegraph) there have been signs that the manuscript remains of the great writers of tho Insl century have boon resolutely "cornered," but no ono was quite prepared to anticipate the big sums paid on Saturday, For only eighteen pages of the original manuscript of "Pendennis" Mr, Quaritch was found ready nnd willing to pay £290. True, on one of tho pages were two Thackeray sketch ejrawingt for "General Washington" and "Geneial Bonaparte," yot theso additions do not account for this surprising valuation, tw for the previous lot, consisting j of only thirteen page's of notes for a !cc- ; hire on "The Four Georges," as much as £199 was bid. I nm able (says tho Tologrnpli's Russian c-orrospnndont) to ndeluco striking I proofs of General Ktiropatkin's certitudo I of victory at Mukden, which ho ani nounced almost categorically to the Emperor, without any prosMiro from St. Petersburg. A fe-w days beforo Mukden wm evacuated tho engineers of tho Fuahun mines asked his advice as to whether they should havo certain costly machinery conveytd to Mukden. Ho replied, certainly, tho plant would be quite safo there, as ho was resolved and ablo to hold the city against the enemy. The implements were accordingly despatched, .iml arrived in timo to bo taken by tho Jnn-Miess in good condition from tho train. Again, tho director of the Chinoso Bank asked tho Commander whether Jic should remove bin papers nnd money from Mukden, but, received an answer in an emphatic negative, being told that tho Japniieao could not tako the city. Soon afterwards the entire staff of tho bank was compelled to flco, kciving a considerable sum of money and nil the documents in the hands of the enemy. T.P.s Weekly tells of n curious burin) custom among ■the- Mordovinians, who inhabit tho middle Volga* provinces of Russia, and are professedly Christians. They beliovo that a deceased relative, 40 days after his interment, returns to his old homo. Failing his visible return, tho next of kin personates him, dressed in his clothes, and professes to deliver aolomn messages from the other sido of tho grave. In tho Japanese army mon nro not promoted for distinguished conduct on the Held, and officors do not assume tho Tank of a superior ofhYor who may bo killed. By distinguishing themselves t lit; y gain nothing but decorations. Tho Order of tho Golden Kits ia a most coveted honour. Every man sooks to obtain it, not only booauso it carries with it a certain monetary rownrd, but for the honour which its possession bostows on the wenror. No oflloer attains higher rank except by going through tho necessary courso of study nnd passing tho examinations. More bravery cannot bring promotion. Whenever tho King ordors his Court to go into mourning King's counsel aro undor n distinct- obligation to oboy His Majesty's command. Thua thoy went into mourning for one week in consoqiionco of the assassination of tho Grand Duko Sorting of Russia. Tha gown in ponods of official nv.iir.ning is not silk, but stuff. The ties, or "bands," dopondmg from the collar, arc slightly broader than usual, with a white stripo down the centre of each. On tho arms of tho coat aro broad white- cuffs, which nro perhaps tho most prominent- sign of mourning. A Manchester man, tho Gunrdinn reIntes, not long ago, asked a Jnpaneso what struck him most about tho European face. Ho replied tHnt it was the horrible round eyes. A Hindoo, to whom ho put tho same question, said that it was the glimmering eyes of tho Kuropenn that he noticed— meaning, presumably, ualf-closcd. A chaplain at a Continental winter resort having the chnrgo of tho children's, service, when catechising on tho narnblo of tho unjust steward, received the following answer:— ."Whut j» v steward?" he asked. A little boy, lately arrived from England, put up his hand, ami cngerly Answered, "He is the man, sir, j who brings you the basin. 1 ' There is a charm about the conduct of elections in Portugal which is entirely lacking in this land of the Corrupt Practices Act. A certain elect of the poople (gays tho Manchester Guaidinn), whilo visiting a part of tho constituency which 'had returned him, enquired of the local Mayor how things hnd gone on tho polling-day. To which tho Magistrate replied, without undue beating nbout tho bush: "Everything vent off excellently. At midday it Mas discovered that no voters bad yet pub ia au appearance, bo

Iwo closed Iho voting chamber. Hut of cuin»o we had to lctuin some flguios, so wo guvo you a clear majoiity of 1500." Tho Hamburg Judges are dealing with an niteiestiiig point. A man, dining at a ichtaurant, found a pearl m an oys.le.i-, and him led oil with it to a jeweller. An oiler of £100 was icfiused, and tho iii.tii returned to the lestamant. to finish Ins dinner. The jcwellei, anxious to seciiio tho peail, followed him, and ineieahvd his oiler to £160. Whilo negotiations were proceeding, tho loslinn.int piopnctor was infoimed of tho matter, and at onco claimed the pearl, maintaining that ho had sold only tho oatablo part of tho oyster to his customer. The Courts will decido betwoo.ii them. Joseph F. Smith, tho Mormon lender, speaking in his own defence at Salt Lako City, contradicted Home of the statements he mado as a witness during tho United States Senate's investigation of Mormonism. For examplo, ho now persists in saying that ho hus revelations from Heaven, giving as the reason why ho denied the fact bctforo tho committee Hint "thoy were trying to lead him into a trap." God, ho says, revealed to him " that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that Urighain Young succeeded to tho presidency rightfully." Ho denounced tho detractors of Mornionism as " Antichrists." From letters rcoeived by the Church Missionniy Society from Japan it seems (says tho Daily News) that Iho severe trial through which tho island-empire is passing is finding expression in greater earnestness in the performance of heathen rites. A recent thrco days' festival in honour of a "looking-glass" god, which attracted thousands of reverent worshippers in a city whoso Government offices wero closed for the occasion, is sufficient proof that Japan, with her chivalry and progress, still needs spiritual enlightenment. At the Paris Academy of Science a curious case of O8(«o-inalachia, or softening of tho bones, was expounded by means of radiograms. Tho patient, who wus originally sft 4in in height, hud shrunk by degrees to 3ft. 2in in the course of ten years. Cases of this kind have almost invariably ended fatally says the Chroniclo correspondent), but the patient now in question i« in fairly good health, though of course tlioro is no possibility of his regaining his former height. Professor Simon Nswcomb, tho famous American astronomer, has just celebrated his seventieth birthday. Ho has received nioro degrees and similar honours abroad than any other American man of science, and is the first American member of Iho French Institute since Benjamin Franklin. Though King Loopold of Belgium (says an Amprican papor) is perhaps ono of tho most disruptablo rakea that over wore a crown, ho is nevertheless « hard worker. Thoso well acquainted with His Majesty's habits sometimes refor to him as "tho Yankee of European jnonarchs." Ho works rapidly and reaches decision rapidly, awl, being a man of almost encyclopedic knowledge, ho is ablo to get through a vast <len>l of businoss in a very short time. In spite of his many csMpn<l<<s ho enjoys a certain popularity, and it has been said that should Belgium proclaim a Republic, Leopold would easily be electod President. Tho St. Petersburg correspondent of tho Echo do Paris telegraphs : — "Captain Klado has beon deprived of nil his ollicial positions other than thewo held by him at tho Military Academy. Such is the punishment moU-d out to him by the authorities — a punishment which deprives him of a great part of his emoluments." Tho Russian Cohunitto on now rail. way lintss hna begun the discussion of tho project for a lino between Tashkent, Vorni, Scmipalatimk, and Barnaul, This lino would link up the TransCaspian and Siberian railways, nnd provide a rnilrond routo from Afghanistan to Pekin. There aro five groups of contractors, who undertake tho construe- [ tion of tho lino under a Government | guarantee for tho payment of interest. It is sai<l that dressed as n mechanic, in blue blouse, and wearing a leather cap, Prince Ferdinand, of Bulgarin, on Ins rccont tour, rode from Calais lo Paris on tho ongino, of ■the express. American Univorsity professors have lately boen startling the world with nil torts of eccentric sayings. One of the latest is Mr. Gardiner Lord, Professor of htlucs of Columbia University, who has created considerable sensation in Philadelphia by a recent lecture. Profcjwor Lord said that, in his opinion, gamblng properly conducted was a recreation for workors and people in gonoral, nnd not a dissipation. ''Games of chance," said ho, "should be taught in all tho public schools." If this woro done,' it would lessen the evils which at present attach to such games, which wore largely duo to tho attempts on tho part of the authorities to suppross K&mbling. Railway construction proceeds apacoin Africa. I'ho Gorman Emperor in March signed a Bill for tho construction of n railway from tho Camoroons to Lako Cha<l. A sum of 17,000,000 mnrlra (£050,000) is required for the first 160 kilometres. | New forts nro being erected and guns mounted at Singapore, nnd tho British military authorities, with thoir usual sagarity (says tho London Chroniclo), aro boldly advertising what ought to bo hidden. Bath tho forts and tho guns mounted on thorn aro surmounted with j immense) palings, which havo been painted white. Thus ovory position has boon oar-marked, as though to give a possible enemy ovory facility lo dostroy tho fortifications should occasion arise. At Aden tho militnry nnthoritws have painted tho rnilinga upon their forts scnrlot, but tho white rails round tho gun positions at Singapore nro oven more striking, nnd nro visible at sea for a distnnco of five miles! •Mr. Andrew Lang in liiu new book recalls tho easo of Bishop Thirlwnll, who at the ago of ton composed a sermon, in which ho said:— "l confess when I look upon tho present and past state of our public morals, and when I con•trnat our present luxury, dissipntion, and doprnvity with past frugality nnd virtue, I feel not morely a sensation of regret but nlao of terror for tho result of tho change. " Many of, Jules Verne's stories wero suggested to him by oliance paragraphs in newspaper*. Thus, in a cafe one day ho saw in ono . of tho journals that a man cou'.d travel round the world in 80 days. Immediately it occurred to him that tho traveller would by tho difference of meridian gain or loso a day on tho journey, nnd, aftor turning the idea over for some time, he wrote tho very popular story for which it served as foundation. Tho Rev. S. Baring-Gould relates in Chambers'* Journal that an old woman who died lately at Cauwind for long hoodwinked tho coastguard by carrying about a baby.- This wits actually a bottlo or jar of brandy, which sho diew off from a hidden recoptaclo of some smugglers. "You've a very quiet child there ; I never hear it cry," said ono of tho guards to her. "That may be," replied Nanny ; "but I warrant you he's got a deal o' spirit in him," And he let her drsb,.